Ico
by Corky Riviera
Summary: Join two children as they escape the Castle of Mist... R&R appreciated!
1. Entombment

Ico

I : Entombment

Sweet whispers of wind blew through the trees, causing shadows to play on the well-walked path. Morning sun danced through the heavens behind wisps of clouds, and birds sung the greeting to new morning's dawn. Streams gurgled gently while curving 'cross the landscape, hugging bare rocks, providing passage for golden fish. The silence was broken by the sound of heavy breathing; hooves patted the ground in rhythm to match that of feet.

Armored men in the finest of garb cascade down a hill; fully armed, led by the priest, they looked to be heading for the next conquest. But no, this task was much more simple, merely explained by the one odd face in the group.

With a look of confusion on his face, and nearly drowning in the arms of the rider behind him, the child was as disoriented as he could be; just a day before he had been with his family, doing the usual things he did day to day. Now he was being jostled and jolted, carted off in some unknown direction in silence. With not a word (as he was told never to speak, the poor lad,) he allowed them to take him, take him off into the unknown.

Reaching open path, the sun now seems to burn down ferociously, causing thin sweat to bead on each member's skin. The knights, well trained, never bother, of course, and the priest keeps his mind set on the path. With bound little hands, the boy wipes his forehead clear; accidentally tapping a horn against the knight's armor, he moves his head and keeps still.

The party continued until the ocean spread wide, seagulls calling to the people below. Ahead, a monstrous island comes into sight, with waves angrily lapping at its shores. Consisting of solid rock, the island rose from the sea in defiance of nature, complete with a massive castle. The doors stood wide open, as if welcoming the group.

"This is where...?" An incomplete thought raced through the child's head.

With a start, he found himself lifted through the air and promptly carried to a boat. For a minute, this caused confusion; with another glance at the castle, though, he noticed the bridge had long since fallen apart. After all who were coming were loaded, they set off in the awkward boat.

The huge castle stood, almost reaching to the heavens. The stonework was a bright, sandy yellow, looking worn yet stable at the same time. The main castle consisted of many levels and rooms, as it seemed, with two towers across the sides. Everyone who saw it would temporarily loose their breath, and they would soon realize how small they were compared to the world. The challenge it presented (for it was mounted upon stone several hundred miles high, and took up every little inch it could on the island surface) could inspire the least hopeful; spanning four islands, the stonework must have been made for a great lord... Though one wondered how such a thing was build, none ever bothered to question it upon seeing the structure.

The boat was paddled across the angry waters to the farthest point away from the shore, where it was secured; again the boy was lifted and carried, until he was placed on the ground and given a good shove. Just offshore, huge pillars anchored to the seabed greeted them, and they continued with them, up into the cavern ahead. Walking up the slippery path, the boy glanced upwards and saw the castle disappear behind the ridge above him; neglecting care, the buildings, up close, proved that they were old (and probably rather unsafe, so he thought) and that this place wasn't where many visited. Soon his curiousity fired up – they were directly beneath the castle, in the island itself! Somebody had hollowed out the core, leaving a labrynth-like maze to fill it. Almost bumping into the armed man ahead of him, the boy found the party had stopped.

"Get the sword." A man, with a demonic looking mask, spoke harshly to another. He had the appearance of an executioner, another thing that quickly triggered the child's imagination. The ghastly man soon took off in one direction, the commanded knight heading off in another. The boy was pushed to follow the masked man.

"Sword?" The child's mind raced in silence, "Why do they need a sword? Mama told me this was a vacation- you don't need WEAPONS on vacation... do you?"

Being led through cold, whistling halls until his feet were about to fall apart, the little boy was slowly coming to realize a very simple fact- he wasn't here on vacation, or, at least, a pleasant one. Finally they came to a much-needed halt before two grimy statues.

Arousing a startled jump from the boy, the masked man unsheathed his sword before the statues; a quick flash of light played before the stonework, adding another startled jump. The statues then slid apart, revealing a platform in a square shaft.

Staring in wonder, the boy was again given a rough shove into the small room, packed in the center of all parties riding. More and more curious things happened, namely the fact that the floor below them began to _move upwards_ as if being pulled; no cables were seen to be pulling them, which made the child wonder if something was pushing them up.

The ride ended in a dark, ominous, rounded chamber, fashioned not unlike a great arena. On each raised ledge, great caskets of stone, embellished with pictographs of words forgotten in time, stood deathly silent. Only one was open- and that one was reserved for the very special guest.

Realizing what was happening, the boy turned to flee- caught up by strong arms, he began to scream loudly and fight. The men, very able to overpower the child, marched over to the casket and flung him in. Still screaming protests, he could barely make out their good-byes.

"Farewell, demon, enjoy your sleep." One of the voices called.

"This is for your own good." The priest almost seemed to be grinning.

Then the lid was closed, muffling out the screaming to a mere whisper.

Feet left, echoing across the bare walls, and the light of the single torch in the room was taken out. The elevator left, not to return for another fifty years.

Inside the casket, the boy continued to wail, pounding his bound hands against the cold stone. Hitting and hitting seemed to do no good, but he was determined to fight until his last- he lurched forward when he felt the casket lean forward.

Outside, the rock base below the object was crumbling into dust, allowing the casket to lean forward. Again inside, he began to throw his weight against the door, feeling it slide from it's placement for every shove. Again and again, he combated the stonework, until finally it seemed to hang in the air.

Falling forward, propelled by gravity and the will to live, the casket hit the ground and burst into pieces, the stone flying across the floor. Underneath a large slab, Ico, the young, frightened boy, lied unconscious against the cold floors.


	2. Acquaintance

Ico

II : Acquaintance

Had it not been for the two horns protruding from his head, Ico would've never fallen to such a fate. In his home village, a new birth was enough to cause a great celebration; however, every generation, a child would be born with horns, considered to be part of an ancient curse that continued to the present day.

Such a child was immediately outcast from society- if something bad were to befall the village the child was blamed and punished. They were the few never to receive friendship, or true care, other than the bare minimum. As such, these children were raised until they hit the twelfth year of living, and then were ceremoniously brought to the island fortress, to be sealed eternally and forgotten until the start of the next generation. The tradition had gone on for centuries, and would probably continue on for years to come.

While lying underneath the cold slab of stone, which had once made up his casket, Ico's mind had drifted off into the land of dreams. The conditions had, however, skewed the usual flow of dreams from their usual path, making them much darker, colder, and real.

In a dark tower that reached up to the thundering heavens, the boy saw himself scaling the round staircase. Outside each narrow window, the fury of nature could be seen at it's worse, as the dark sea frothed and the sky split asunder with lightning. The climb seemed endless, but at the very top, a door could be seen, a final chance of freedom.

Continuing the climb, he was startled to find a huge cage, suspended from the ceiling, hanging down in the middle of the room. The black iron was carved ornamentally, but it was worn from use. Staring in silence, he saw what could only be described as a shadow, or a dark pool, start to rise in the bottom of the cage. The substance began to rise up, and started to run out the sides, dripping heavily onto the floor below.

Slowly, a thin and slender figure rose up from the pool, dripping with darkness, it's form reshaping in all sorts of ways. It stood, silent, immobile, as Ico stared in silent, disgusted fascination; little did he know of the shadow forming behind him. It spread out below him, and suddenly pulled him in with a yank- with a final scream, he was swallowed into the darkness.

Eyes snapping open, with cold sweat dotting across his skin, Ico returned to reality with a start. After regaining his senses, he found himself in an entirely new room, one that still had the silence of death hanging within it.

Glancing about the room, he noticed rows upon rows of sarcophagi-like cases were staring down at him. Each was made from dark stone, with pictographs inscribed against their surfaces.

"That's what they put me in..." Rubbing the side of his head, just avoiding the beginning of his horn, he walked up to the nearest one, noticing a small, circular window just below the 'head' of the carving. Standing on his tiptoes, he took a look in, and quickly fell over upon seeing the ghastly remains of one come before him.

With the image burnt into his mind, he stared at the casket in some amount of horror. The thought of being the only one alive in such a place began to swell and turn dark, which got him to his feet once more. Instinctively, he ran to a pair of statues that probably marked a door.

Two statues, rectangular in shape and hollow in the centers, stood silent against the wall. In the centers, statues of children with horns could be seen, hugging their knees with their faces hung in despair.

Running straight to the wall, he hit his hand against it, trying to find the door.

"Let me in!" He continued to run his hands up and down the wall, looking for some form of switch or handle, "Please, let me in!"

The statues didn't move, nor did the wall give way.

"Guess I can't go that way..." He turned, glancing about the room. All around him, strange contraptions hung off the walls and from the ceilings, most of it coated in dust.

There was a staircase, in the middle of the room, leading up to some unknown destination. Taking to the stairs, he reached the top and found a lever. Pulling down on it with as much force as he could muster, he jumped back as several things above him began to move.

Dust poured from gears, as a small door below was pulled up. After reaching the top, all of the machinery came to a halt, a fine dust drifting down from above. Coughing once or twice, Ico ran back down and went through the door.

The next room was, apparently, some form of storage room, since the middle of the floor was indented deeply, making a huge gap between each side of the room. At the other side, a blank wall awaited, looking hopeless. But light was pouring out of an open window above.

"I don't think I can..." His thoughts were interrupted when he looked at a chain hanging from the middle of the room. Walking over, he leaned forward and grabbed ahold of it, giving it a tug.

Some dust fell from the ceiling, but the chain seemed to be steady.

Wrapping both hands around the cold metal, he took a run and leapt off the ledge; making a graceful, curved swing upwards, he let himself go and awkwardly flew through the air.

Quickly, he pulled himself up the chain, then turned himself so he was facing the window. Swinging his weight, he swung close to the edge... but quickly went back. Again throwing his weight, he let go at the peak of his arc, and flew through the air, hitting the wall with some force.

Lucikly, he had grabbed the windowsill, and was quickly in the frame, nursing a bleeding nose. He heard the chain behind him shift, and glancing over his shoulder, a glimpse of the chain falling was caught in his eye.

After spending a minute plugging his nose and staring skyward, he climbed out of the window and found himself above a small ledge. Jumping down, he took a minute to glance upon the shining waters.

For as far as the eye could see, the sea lay in expanse, with not a hint of land to be seen anywhere. A heavy breeze was blowing past, drifting the scent of salt water upward. For a minute, he felt totally alone in the world.

Slowly he got back to looking around, and noticed two ladders leaning against a -very- tall wall. A hole was seen at the top of the one resting to the very right; barely, one could make out a staircase. Scaling the ladder, he pulled himself into the cold room and looked around.

Stairs wound up and around the tower, light pouring through the narrow windows. Struck with a sense of deja-vu, Ico numbly stared at the steps. Although dreading it, he looked up, and spotted a black-iron cage.

"It's like my dream..." His eyes scanned the walls and the bottom of the cage several times, "I guess... I guess I've just got to be careful."

Uneasily resting a foot against the first step, he took a deep breath. Slowly, he began to climb, trying not to look at the cage in the center of the room. Up and up he climbed, just barely reaching the top; with a slight rebound of courage, he glanced at the cage.

Within it's dark confines was a girl, so pale she all but glowed. The girl, sickly thin, was crouched over, hugging her knees, with her head hung over. She was silent, breathing quietly, unmoving.

"Hey!" Ico called to the girl, "Are you okay?"

She didn't move, not even to flinch.

"Hey, uhm, don't worry, I'll get you out of there, okay?"

Again, there were some gears and such attached to the ceiling, hinting that a switch would be seen nearby; looking around, he found it at the bottom of the stairwell. Hurrying back down (and trying not to fall over) he ran in front of it, and gave it a sharp push.

SNAP.

For a minute, he just stood still, staring at the broken peice of wood on the floor.

"Maybe I could get the gears started myself."

Hurrying back up (and now sweating a storm) he paused on the steps, calling to the girl.

"I tried the first lever, but it didn't work, so I'm going up there to get you down, okay?"

She remained immobile.

"Don't worry!" Ico was quickly running up; suddenly he stumbled back at the step ahead of him crumbled into fine dust. Thusly, all the other steps above did the same, once again adding some insult to injury.

A clever problem needed a clever solution- running to the nearest window, he leaned out and sought out some form of ledge. Luckily, the rough wall looked just fine for climbing, so he clambered out of the window and scaled the surface.

"Wonder how high..." He looked down. "...Don't look down. Always look up."

Looking skyward, he continued to climb to the highest window; upon entering, he noticed a small, somewhat sturdy platform just before a second switch. Leaping out, he took the lever (carefully) and pulled down (carefully) until it clicked.

All at once, the chain holding the cage went slack, running across wooden beams so fast it sparked a small fire. The cage hit against the ground with a loud clank, tossing it's prisoner forward; the girl countered by suddenly leaning against the back of the cage.

Quickly, Ico climbed back out the window and came back in the lower one, hurrying down the stairs. Reaching the bottom (and panting up a storm, one would imagine) he rused to the cage and pulled on the lock, which quickly gave way.

"Are... are you okay?" He panted, looking at the pale girl inside the cage.

"Unne ere ayua'tu?"

"...What?"

"Yeurla unne va'tise du caeh?" The girl spoke, softly, her voice sounding as if it had gone through years of disuse. However, the words that came out weren't like anything Ico had ever heard before. Suddenly she pointed at the space behind him, shouting, "Eoule!"

Whipping around, Ico saw a monstrous figure rise up from the dark floor. The size of a full-grown man, it was made entirely of quickly-moving black shadow. Startled, he took a step back, then found himself taken up by the front of the shirt.

With amazing ease, the monster tossed him into the corner of the room; meanwhile, above, a peice of the blazing timber came down.

Nearly knocked out of his senses, Ico came around when he heard the girl scream- without thinking, he scrambled upright and picked up the unburnt end of the stick, and took a lunge at the creature.

The impact was hard enough that a peice of the monster was literally sent flying; repeated hits were enough to disintergrate the creature. Ducking a swing from his foe, Ico delivered a severe blow, cutting the shadow in half which promptly disintergrated. His new acquaintance fell to the floor, silent. Dropping the stick, he kneeled down beside her.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Unne..."

"You... don't speak English?"

She stared up at him through faded, weary eyes.

"Ico." He pointed to himself.

"Ico." She repeated it, then gestured a hand weakly at herself, "Yorda."

"She escaped... One of them escaped, and now she escaped..."

In the confines of the castle above, a shapeless spirit was enraged.

"They should know there is no life, here, or outside the castle. Stupid fools..." The spirit had been watching the whole series of events unfold, from the minute the knights had brought the boy, "I shall prove to them as such; or I will make that foolish boy perish..."

"Yorda, I'll get you out of here, okay?" Ico was speaking slowly, still half expecting her to understand, "Come, I'll help you up."

He gently pulled her off the floor, waiting until she felt as if she was steady. His hand was tightly held around hers. "I'll get both of us out."


	3. Communication

Ico

III : Communication

Through some unseen power, the minute the boy had rested his hands against Yorda's, it seemed to trigger a strong sense of trust. Language was a barrier, but only one compared to many other ways of communicating; she merely expressed her newfound trust with a faint squeeze of his hand.

"Now how do we get back out of here...?" He gazed around the dark tower, then noticed two statues leaning against the wall. "Come on, this way."

As he began walking, the girl remained staring at the walls until the last minute, nearly stumbling onto her face. It seemed that she had the accuracy of a four-year-old as far as walking was concerned, which was enough for Ico to hold her back up.

"Sorry." He began walking slower, making sure she was keeping up with him. Watching her, he noticed she seemed to gaze around the room as if stuck in a daydream; it seemed, also, that everything to her was new. Though she was, quite clearly, older than he, Ico felt as if she was some younger sister who needed to be directed the right way.

Reaching the statue, he let go of her hand and began to feel around the statues; there was nothing. Sighing, he looked around for another exit.

Meanwhile, through dreamy mists, Yorda took some steps forward to the statues, responding to a natural curiousity that had grown in her mind. When her foot was lightly set down one step before the two, the statues suddenly shifted.

Both jumping back, the children watched as the statues slid apart, revealing a doorway. Outside, a long, weathered bridge could be seen against the blue sky and seas; occasional seagulls swept their way down over the castle.

"You... You can open doors? Why didn't you say so?"

"Eou?"

"...right..." He began walking, and realized he was missing a companion. Looking over his shoulder, he could see her staring, confused, at him, standing stock still. "Come on..."

"..." She did nothing.

"Come. On." He turned, facing her.

"..." She shifted her weight slightly, silent.

Walking over to her (and using a great deal of patience for someone that young) he held his hand out, then placed her own within it. Closing his hand around hers, he then calmly stated, "Come."

Yorda looked at the locked hands, seemingly comprehending it.

Letting go of Yorda's hand, Ico then took it again and repeated the command. "Come."

"C..."

Letting go a third time, he walked two steps away then held his hand open to her. "Come."

Slowly, she stepped forward, gently laying her hand in his. "C...come..."

"When I say 'come', you put your hand in my hand. Okay?" He let her go again and began walking to the door, knowing she wouldn't move. One step outside the door, he called, holding his arm out, "Come."

As commanded, she caught up to him and took his hand, squinting in the sunlight. Stepping out into the full outside, Yorda suddenly acted as if she had entered a wonderland. With her eyes completely open, she gazed around the scenery as if she had never seen such a place before. For once, she felt the warm breezes, and could see the birds that called to her day by day.

Ico gladly stood still for a minute to let her take it in, "You've never been outside, huh? There's better places than this, but I guess you've got to start somewhere."

After a minute, he began walking, making sure she wasn't tugged too hard. "Let's go."

The peaceful little walk quickly came to a halt when, with a well-placed step, most of the bridge suddenly fell down, crashing against some rocks below. Ico had, thankfully, jumped back in time, but had nearly toppled his companion over.

"This place is turning into dust!" Regaining his nerve, he found the gap created wasn't too much of a challenge to just leap over. Letting go of Yorda, he took a leap over onto the stone.

With a few startled gasps coming from Yorda, she watched him panickedly lunge forward as the bricks he was standing upon gave way and fell down below. Lying on the steady path, clinging to the sides, Ico took a minute to recover, then stood up. He could feel the stones under his feet slowly slide, but they seemed to stay steady.

"Okay, um, your turn."

Yorda stared, looking a bit frightened, as the breezes blew past.

"Come." He held his hand out.

With a few awkward, quick steps, she leaped off the edge; but with a minimal amount of thrust, she hardly made it across and quickly felt herself fall, letting out a loud yelp.

With a jolt, she felt her arm being held, around the wrist, as her friend began to pull her up.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall!" Ico backed up, steadily, pulling her up.

Resting a hand against the stone, Yorda was about to pull herself up when she fell back down with another yelp, the brick in front of her tumbling down. Ico nearly fell over headfirst, but he had his feet braced in a deep groove running between two bricks.

"Okay, I've still got you, don't worry!"

Slowly the girl was pulled onto the path- the brick beneath her began to shift- suddenly she was dragged upright and run across the bridge, as some of the bricks behind her fell down into the waters. Reaching another open doorway, the two came to a halt, finding some time to catch their breath.

"That was close..." Ico panted, leaning against the wall, "But we made it."

"E... Eu..."

"Huh?"

"Eouler'a!!" Yorda shrieked, pointing at the doorframe behind Ico.

Glancing back, he saw a handful of black creatures rise from the floors. They were all rather, small, scurrying about in a mad frenzy. Of course, they instantly came for the two.

Grabbing Yorda, Ico ran in (since it was safer to, of course, run around in a room instead of a bridge) and stood in front of her, waiting until the creatures came close. At this point, he was wishing he had brought his stick, since they all came at once.

Using what he had, Ico suddenly stuck his foot through a creature, which quickly disintergrated. Stomping his way through the shadows, he gave all his might into flattening the fiends; finally, they were all gone...

"What are those things? Are you okay?" Ico looked back at Yorda and jumped.

"Ico..." She whined, as there was one of the shadows scurrying up and down her figure.

Running to her, he waited until it ran to her side and he suddenly gave it a kick; hitting the wall, it disappeared.

"Are you okay now?" He looked her over, finding nothing out of the ordinary, "Good."

The room, rather drab, had a big box within it; nothing more could be seen.

"Dead end?" He began to walk around the room, searching the walls.

Yorda, however, slowly walked up to the box, staring at it. Something about it was terribly out of place, it occurred to her, so she pointed at it and silently watched him search the walls. Slightly annoyed by the lack of attention, she called, "Ico."

"Huh?" He looked back, noticing her pointing. "What about it?"

She remained still, pointing at it.

He walked over to it, and stared for a moment with her. Then he gave it a slight push and noticed it was relatively easy to move. "Oh, I see, you think something is underneath?"

Pushing his weight against it, he found the box to glide across the floor; upon moving it from its original spot, he heard quite an amount of noise. Out of nowhere, a stairwell materialized, leading to a door.

"...this place is scary."

Both of the kids stared at the stairs for some moment.

"Well, come on."

Instantly two hands met, as Ico began climbing the stairs, his companion right behind him. Through the rising doorway, he spied something move across the floor.

"Not MORE of those things... I think I'm going to need the stick."

Turning around and dragging a confused Yorda along, he left her standing before the gap. Looking as upset and confused as she could, she merely stared at him as he leaped across the gap and scrambled back to the previous room.

Loosing interest, Yorda turned around and began to gaze at the scenery. Moving forward, she was inching her way to the newest-found door, not much paying attention to the shadows bouncing up and down within.

Ico came back out with the now flame-free stick, hopping over the gap.

"Yorda, I'm-"He paused. "Where did she go? Hey! Yooooorda!"

"Ico!" A weak reply came from the doorway.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" With his stick at the ready, he sprinted his way into the room and landed straight in the arms of a shadow. Being cast aside, he rebounded and began to smack at the creatures, not seeing Yorda.

"Yorda! Where are you?!"

"Ico!" Another weak reply came from the corner of the room.

Upon looking back, he saw the girl was being pulled into a shadow. Running to her, he grabbed her by the arm and gave a mighty pull, freeing her from the hole. Moving her so she was behind him, Ico then stood, stick at the ready, set to protect her.

As they came closer, Ico swung the stick at them, knocking them apart. After a minute of bashing, the shadows seemingly gave up and sunk into the floor. Before relaxing, Ico took a minute to glance around the room.

"You okay?"

"..." Yorda just looked at him, with an expressionless face.

"You shouldn't wander off, it's dangerous to be alone."

The room was akin to the storage room, as there was a large pit separating the room. However, it wasn't as deep as the one from before. A closed door was seen on the opposite side; Ico could easily get across, but he knew getting Yorda over would be another story.

"Now stay here and don't move." He began to search the room, then noticed a switch in the pit. Climbing down, he walked over and gave it a pull, causing the door to open.

Walking to the other side, he climbed the ledge, then turned to face Yorda. The girl wasn't paying much attention at this point, so he loudly commanded, "Come."

With a start, she began to walk to him, then hesitated at the ledge.

"Just climb down. Come. Hey, where are you going?"

She had backed up several steps, and suddenly took off the edge in a faint sprint. Ico leaned out, trying to catch her, but he missed her entirely. Falling to the floor, Yorda remained deathly still for a moment.

"Yorda!" Ico gasped, "Are you okay?"

Within a minute, she pushed herself back upright, looking dazed.

"Come on, I'll pull you up."

She wandered to the edge, reaching up to him. However, she couldn't reach him, even on her tiptoes. Yorda quickly gave up, staring at him with a bit of a frown.

"Uh, oh, hold on." He had looked back and noticed a box. Getting around behind it, he began pushing it to the edge. Upon seeing it, Yorda backed up some distance.

"Out of the way, something's coming down!" He shoved it off the edge, then called, "Now come."

Climbing up the box with some difficulty, Yorda tried to conquer the ledge, but needed a helpful pull. After both children were on the same level, they took off again, hand in hand.

Through a door and up a staircase, they took a turn around a wall and found a strangely shaped seat. It looked to be a couch carved from stone, resting against the stone walls.

"Hey... I guess I could use the rest." Ico walked to the seat, pulling Yorda along. When he sat down, she did too, with not a question in her mind. "I think we'll stay here for a little while, okay?"

Glad for the rest herself, Yorda leaned back, glancing about the room.

"I'm glad I found someone else... I don't feel so alone anymore..." Ico leaned against the back of the seat, "I wonder if you're a prisoner, too? You just don't look like anyone I've ever seen before."

Yorda, silent, continued to look around, dazed.

"Don't you worry about anything, because I'm not going to leave you, okay?" He yawned, "I think I'm going to close my eyes for awhile, tell me if something happens."

Letting his head rest, he let his eyes slide closed, and before he knew it, he had drifted off into dreams. Yorda, silent, watched him for a moment, then spent a minute or two gazing around the room. Finally, she rested her head gently against his, mindful of his horn, and closed her eyes.

For a moment, or maybe even a few minutes, everything was okay.


	4. Vertigo

Ico

IV : Vertigo

"Come on, the door is this way!"

A misty, foggy courtyard was surrounding the two companions, the doors to freedom standing wide open. Both of the kids were running at full speed, straight for the doorway. Lunging through the open gates, Ico was suddenly jolted back as Yorda came to a halt.

"Ico!"

He turned around to find the courtyard swimming in shadow; just before the door, Yorda had been taken around the legs and was being pulled into the darkness. With panicked whimpers, she clung weakly to his hand.

"I won't let you go, don't worry!" Straining, he began to pull back, trying to pull Yorda free. Sinking quickly into the dark mass, Yorda suddenly gasped as a hand latched onto her head and began to push her down.

"No! You can't have her!" Struggling with all his might, Ico continued to pull- suddenly her cold hand slipped from his own like air."

"Ico!" She screamed as she was engulfed, the courtyard now a thick, pitch black. Stumbling back, Ico felt the gates shut behind him, and all at once he was swallowed.

"Oh!"

He opened his eyes, glancing about the cold walkway.

"Just... just a dream?"

Looking down, he noticed Yorda's hand lying close to his. Eyes running up her figure, he then found her to be resting her head against his own, like he hadn't a pair of horns. She appeared to be asleep, with her eyes closed and her face held in a soft, relaxed expression; her breathing was calm and smooth like a steady autumn breeze.

"Hey..." He gently nudged her, "Wake up now."

Yorda's faded eyes slid open slowly, looking at Ico's own sleepily.

"How long have we been asleep? Why didn't you wake me up?"

Righting herself, Yorda glanced around. No longer was it the early morning, but rather, some time around noon. The sun beat down, making the stones of the castle a touch warmer than before.

"Well, come on, let's go." Rising off the couch, the boy helped his friend up. "I don't think a short nap hurt anything, huh?"

Again she was gazing about the walkway, silent. She only moved when she was pulled along, stumbling behind her energetic friend.

Around another corner, the two found themselves standing atop many buildings. The wind angrily whipped around the stone roofs, whistling a deathly tune. They were so high up that the base of the castle couldn't be seen, nor the lapping of waves against the island's walls.

"We're up so high..." Ico's hands were trembling some, "We've got to be careful when walking around up here."

Slowly he started off, Yorda in hand, looking about the round rooftop. A staircase wound down around it's outside, heading to some tracks down below. Walking over, they began climbing down, both hugging the walls with good reason. The wind angrily slapped at their faces, and Yorda was having a hard time keeping her hair out of her face. Upon reaching the bottom, they found a suspended railway running around the wall.

"That's weird, maybe there's a cart?" Ico glanced around, somewhat apprehensive of standing on the narrow tracks. His hand suddenly felt wind rush against it's palm, signaling Yorda had let go. "Yorda?"

She was walking on the track, mindful of the gaps, around a corner.

"Wait, come back!"

Instantly she came to a halt, and walked back to him, taking his hand.

"Don't wander off up here!"

"..." She was staring off at the track around the curve.

"What, is something over there?" Standing on the tracks, walking slowly and carefully, the boy began to head in that direction. Coming around a curve, a trolley was awaiting at the end of a broken track. "Hey, good eye!"

Climbing up, he pulled Yorda up then walked to a switch. Giving it a pull, they suddenly lurched backwards at the broken track, causing Yorda to collapse into a seated position on the platform.

"Woah! Wrong way. Are you hanging on?" After making sure she was safe, he pushed the lever ahead, and the cart smoothly began to run across the track. Around the curve, they were suddenly overhead open seas.

Keeping his eyes on the path, Ico paid no attention to the waters below. Yorda, still seated, was staring down at the sea with a natrual sense of vertigo. Moving to the center of the trolley, she hugged her knees and closed her eyes.

"Here's our stop!" Ico let go of the lever slowly, the ride ending before a wooden block. Up against a wall, a ladder was awaiting the two. "Are...you okay?"

Pained whimpers were emitting from the pale girl.

Kneeling down beside her, Ico rested a hand against her back. "Don't be scared. You won't fall down."

Looking up at him, she blinked thin tears out of her eyes.

"Don't cry, either." Taking her hand, he slowly rose up, pulling her upright. "Come on, we need to go up the ladder, okay?"

Letting go of her hand, he climbed up the ladder and waited at the top. With a bit of encouragement she came up, as well, instantly clinging to him when reaching the top. The path ahead ended, where it once fell apart, making a large gap from building to building. An old, open-walled tower was housing a crane, still holding a huge crate.

"I wonder if it still works..." Walking to the edge, he let go of Yorda, staring at the crane. "Don't wander off, I'll be right back!"

As Ico began to search for a way to climb to the tower, Yorda dropped down and hugged her knees, silently rocking back and forth. The wind was still whistling, and as far as she was concerned, that became the 'sound' associated with heights. Heights were unpleasant things, now, in her mind, and she thought that if she couldn't see them, they weren't there.

Climbing across the stone wall Ico hopped to the crane's domed house and found the switch. Giving it a pull, the crane suddenly swung around to the side, the box lowering just before Yorda. With a run, he leapt onto the crate, which swung momentarily but remained steady.

"Hey, come on!" He walked to the edge, holding his arms out.

Looking up, she rose upright, shaking. Walking to the edge, she managed a weak jump and was caught in his arms. Upon being moved to the center of the crate, she yelped when she felt her hand loose contact with Ico's. Opening her eyes to a squint, she saw him climb back to the main tower, and pull the switch. All of a sudden the crate moved, so she collapsed onto her side and clung for dear glory.

It swung back around and went up, stopping just near the next rooftop.

Silently trembling, Yorda remained still, eyes closed, until she felt a pair of feet drop down beside her. Slowly looking up, she saw the boy stare at her with a very concerned face.

"Don't cry, please?"

"..."

Turning, he leapt to the rooftop, then turned around, holding his arms out at Yorda. Rising to her feet, she jumped, and was caught in his arms. Hand in hand they both ran across the roof and into another building.

It was a great hallway, with boarded up windows and a huge bridge that ran across it's center. Above, sturdy wooden beams ran across, holding up a black chandelier. Down below, the next door awaited, but the floor had long given away, leaving a dark pit.

Walking slowly across the bridge, Ico gently pulled Yorda along, glancing all around the room. As they walked, she was staring at the black iron chandelier, complete with glowing candles, noticing a weak chan holding it up. She came to a halt, bringing her friend to a halt as well, staring at it.

"What is it?"

Silently, she continued to look up.

"That? It's just some fancy lights."

"..." Suddenly she was tugged along, still looking back at it. Reaching the far wall, Ico ran through a door that led to a balcony. A pair of bridges were held up by ropes, but there wasn't a way to get them down.

"Guess we've got to get through downstairs... Hey, where are you...?"

Yorda ran back into the room before, looking at some of the windows.

"Don't run off like that!"

She pointed at the windows, looking up and down them.

Doing the same, he suddenly realized what she wanted him to do. Instantly climbing up the windowsills, he found himself on the wooden beams in no time. Down below, Yorda was watching him move, running about the room to keep an eye on him.

Slowly walking in the center of the beams, he wandered to where the chandelier was anchored, then suddenly dropped down on it. At once, the chain snapped, and the object fell through the air.

Both of the kids shrieked as it smacked against the center bridge, causing a wooden support below to splinter; the metal chandelier split apart, the top half falling onto the floor below, and the bottom off into the darkness.

After everything came to a halt, Yorda ran to the center bridge and found Ico lying across it. Giving him a tug, he rose and gave her a weak grin.

"I think I broke it."

Looking down, Yorda noticed two of the candles had survived the fall in their holders, and pointed at them.

"Okay, let's try to get down there." Staring at the room below, he noticed a door led to the half of the room where the chandelier rest. Grabbing Yorda, they both ran out the first door and found a staircase which wound down. Hurrying, they came to the bottom and stumbled upon some rather odd objects.

Big, and round, with wicks, the objects were lying before the doors.

"Are these candles? They're WAY too big..."

Yorda, at this time, had already wandered into the room ahead.

On a hunch, Ico grabbed one and wandered in, looking at the splintered wooden beam holding the bridge up. Glancing at Yorda, he found her to be staring at the candles. Slowly a thought grew: Wood could burn. You could light candles and they'd stay aflame for a long time. Thus, if they could light the candle then place it directly beside the beam, they could eventually burn it so it'd collapse, becoming a bridge to the other side.

Running over, he set the 'round candle' beside the beam, then walked to the chandelier. Lighting the end of his stick (he had kept it in his free hand at all times, the smart kid) he then walked to the candle and lit it.

Yorda looked confused, watching him walk back, blowing out the end of his stick. He seemed to have noticed her look of confusion.

"If we can burn the beam, you see, it'll fall down and make-"

Both of the kids suddenly dropped to the floor, clinging to each other, as the candle- or rather, a bomb- exploded. The beam was knocked off it's support, which began to fall. The stone bridge cracked, and with the beam, the end fell down; when the beam was caught on the floor, the end of the bridge came to a halt on the other side, the rest of it collapsing into a slant. Thus, there was a bridge leading to the other side.

"W-w-woah!" Ico looked up, staring at the new bridge, "Thank the stars I moved, huh?"

Yorda rose up, looking at the bridge.

"Let's go across!"

By the time they had climbed back up and were about to descend down the newly-made path, pools of dark shadow had formed near the door. Nearly slipping off, the two had made it to their destination.

"Quick!" Ico pushed Yorda to the statues, "Open it!"

The shadows came at them, ready to attack. However, as soon as the statues came to life, they all disintergrated, as if the power also affected them.

"...good job."

The statues slid apart, leading out into bright sunlight. Before Ico could react, Yorda had run out. Following her and taking her hand, he laid eyes upon the open gates ahead.

"The doors are open!" They were at the beginning of a sun-drenched courtyard, "Come on, we can get out now!"

Taking into a hurried walk, the doors suddenly began to close.

"Hurry!" Taking off into a run, Ico pulled Yorda with all of his might, Yorda, stumbling along, tried to keep up, but her foot hit the groove of the stone path and she fell. Coming to a halt, Ico whipped around to help her up when the doors came to a close.

Behind Yorda, a huge dark mass began to swarm up.

"I'll protect you!" Stick at the ready, Ico was about to lunge at the darkness- he stumbled back when a human face appeared within the mists.

A woman, dressed in the darkness, stood behind Yorda, staring through hardened eyes. A faint ringing could be heard around her, and the force of pure black magic felt like a weight pushing against the soul. She spoke, harshly, "Unne compte deus vi'tor ae ue terre, Yorda!"

Stunned, Ico continued to stare up at her.

"So, you are the one aimlessly leading my daughter astray, are you not?" The woman turned her eyes upon Ico, "Do you know who this is?"

He remained silent, staring, unsure of what to do.

"This is Yorda, my beloved daughter; who are you to take her away from me?"

"I'm a prisoner- she is too- we're both going to get out of here together!"

"Fool!" Her voice boomed, "You can never leave this place together OR alone. She is bound to me by fate; there is no way you can leave. She lives in a world, very different from that of a boy with horn's: A world you cannot enter, a world she cannot escape!"

"..." Ico looked down for a moment, feeling quite hurt. How could she be in another world? Could he not touch her, or hold her hand? He responded, strongly, " will help her escape!"

"There is no life, here, or outside the castle walls; accept your fate and die, demon! Leave my daughter, or pay with your life!"

The woman disappeared in a blast of dark light, having run out of energy to remain in the courtyard. Having left her daughter behind, she slunk back to her throne.

"Are you okay?" Ico got down on his knees before Yorda.

"Si'terre ein ule unne, fortiel ein ducant..." She looked up at him.

"Ecanth... du etula... sem'rei." The voice of the queen drifted around the courtyard.

"Come on..." He reached his hand out to Yorda. Silently, she took his hand, and the both rose to their feet. "I made a promise. I'm not going to go back on it just because we're different."

Yorda gave a faint grin.

"Let's see if we can open the gate."

After searching the courtyard up and down, the two came to rest upon a stone couch. The fading sunlight provided a nice warmth, casting a dreamy feel over the two. Drifting off into much needed slumber, both Ico and Yorda were hand in hand, in reality, and within dreams.

"Aeroute..." The word drifted sleepily out of Yorda's mouth as she rested her hand against Ico's. "Aeroute unne."


	5. Innocence

Ico

V : Innocence

Ico woke up to the beginning of the new day, skin damp with thin dew. Yawning and stretching out, he found himself to be missing a companion. Looking around and not seeing her, he cupped his hands over his mouth and called: "Yorda!"

The sounds of birds flying away were the only response, as he rose up and began looking about the courtyard. Once again he called her name, not getting a response. Becoming more and more uneasy, he started walking around the columns that led to the gates; suddenly his eyes locked onto Yorda's figure.

"Yorda, are you..." He paused, watching her.

Silently, she was slowly creeping up to a small, white bird. The bird occasionally hopped around, plucking small bugs off the pavement. It barely seemed to notice Yorda's bare feet slide up to it, but when she moved to grab it, it took off with a flap.

Jumping at it once or twice, Yorda continued to stare at it as it flew away. Silently, she reached her hand out and caught the feather it left behind. Bringing it close to her face to examine it, she almost went cross-eyed when it touched her nose. Against her skin, it felt very soft, so she took her free hand and began to run it across the feather.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

With a slight flinch, Yorda looked over her shoulder. Finding it to be 'just' Ico, she quickly looked back at her feather, running it through her hands.

"You've got a feather?" He pointed at it, "Feather."

"Pelu'gia."

"Pelu'gia?" He tilted his head, looking at her. Instantly he was wearing the plume on his head. Giving a strange look to Yorda, he then broke into a grin, "Why did you put that on my head?"

Suddenly he stepped aside as she grabbed the feather and chased after a flock of birds. With her arms out wide, she leapt to the feathered creatures, who all took off at once. Coming to a halt, she watched them take skyward for a minute, then stuck the quill of her feather in her mouth, looking back at Ico.

"Don't eat that, it's not good for you, and it might be dirty!" Walking over, he tried to pull it from her mouth, but she turned her head away. With a sigh, he decided having her happy was more important at the moment. "Okay... just don't eat it. Are you paying attention to me?"

She had turned and walked to one of the columns, staring at it. At the top, and unlit torch stood, looking hopeless. Looking back down, she noticed it was resting in a groove. Looking up, and still chewing on the quill of her feather, she pointed, then stared at Ico.

Walking to it, Ico tried to pluck the feather away from Yorda as they both gazed at the column; she merely turned her head, intent on keeping her treasure held securely.

"Well, let's give it a push." Leaning against it, he pushed the column close to the path. After that, he began to do the same to every other column. Meanwhile, Yorda began to chase after the birds again, still with her feather in her mouth. She came to a halt when the columns were in place, for the torches atop suddenly lit.

Walking to the front gate, Ico turned around and observed his work. Just then, he noticed a ledge running across the side of the castle's main doors, where the end was crumbling into fine dust. Running over, he began to work out a solution.

Meanwhile, Yorda was sneaking up on another bird, slowly sliding to it. Suddenly diving at it, she got both hands around the bird and stood upright. The bird, panicked, tried to get away, but the girl's hand was holding it securely and comfortably. With her free hand, she began to stroke the bird's head.

The bird calmed down and seemed content to be stroked. At this point, Yorda rested her head against it, still holding on with just enough force. She barely heard the path behind her crumble as she cooed along with the bird.

"Come here!"

Yorda suddenly held her arms out, and opened her hands, granting the bird freedom. It took off, leaving behind a second feather. Catching it, Yorda stuck it in her mouth, then turned and ran to Ico. He was standing up on the ledge, kneeling down, ready to pull her up.

Taking his arm, Yorda was up with some help and quickly being dragged along.

They crawled around the side of the building and found themselves overlooking a cemetary. Climbing down to the main path, both stood, overlooking the area. A strange silence surrounded them; who could the people in the graves possibly be? They gazed about the area, unmoving.

With a yelp, Yorda was suddenly whipped from Ico's hand.

"Hey!" Whipping around, swinging the stick, he brought it across the body of a shadowy creature hard enough that it dropped Yorda, who hit the path. Stumbling upright, she ran around behind him, eyes darting about the dark figures that circled them. Another pair of dark arms suddenly wrapped around her, causing her to gasp. Unable to fight back, she was hauled over a shoulder.

"Yorda!" Ico looked back and suddenly was hit across the face. Falling to the ground with a bit of a bounce, he caught glimpse of the shadow. It spread out wings and suddenly took off through the air, Yorda over it's shoulder. Scrambling back upright, and not seeing his friend, Ico called, "Yorda!"

She responded with a weak whimper- upon it's landing, the shadow dove headfirst into the dark pool, bringing her along feet-first. The darkness was bitterly cold, as she weakly reached out at the path. Sinking within it's chilling confines, her body became numb as the darkness welled up before her eyes. Soon, her hand was the only thing left in the sunlight; ready to pass out, she let her head hang in the cold.

Suddenly her wrist was caught by a warm pair of hands. Being pulled out of the icy mists headfirst, she found herself pulled upright and ran at high speed to safety. Being tucked in a corner, she watched Ico stand in front of her and defend her to his best ability. Though they came close various times to pulling her back, Ico kept the monsters at bay, finally destroying them. At the end, he slipped onto his knees, about ready to collapse from exhaustion.

"You're... you're okay..." He panted, leaning against his stick. He grew a faint smile when Yorda's hand rested against the back of his head. After taking a minute, he stood up. "Let's go!"

Down in the lowest level of the cemetary, a wall blocked their path; however, an iron door gave slight promise. It seemed to be triggered by some form of switch- quite luckily some raised, square-shaped switches looked to be the answers. There was only one box, which, when brought onto the first switch, did nothing but make a click.

Walking to the other one, Ico stepped on it and watched as the door raised up. "Easy enough."

As soon as he ran off, though, the door came up. With much hesitance, he pushed Yorda to the switch. When stepping on it, she was slightly uneasy for it moved under her feet. Turning, she stared quizically at Ico.

"Stay here and DON'T move." He quickly ran through the door, of out eyesight.

Yorda silently stared at the doorway for some time, but was interrupted when a bird landed behind her. It chirped, which was enough to grab her attention. Stepping off the switch, she inadvertantly locked Ico in.

"Oh... Yorda..." He grumbled, looking over his shoulder.

Walking slowly, she took a lunge for the bird- it suddenly flapped away, leaving her lying on the ground. Slightly dismayed, her attention was then aqquired by a hole in the stone pavement. Crawling on her knees, she stuck her finger in it, then tried to look down it. Prying her hand into it, she began to pull some of the bricks loose. Off in a far corner, a pool of shadow began to spread, just as the bird came back into Yorda's sights. Crawling to it, cat-like, she reached for it...

With a weak yelp, she was taken into cold arms, which flung her harshly over a shoulder. Being hauled to the pool, she couldn't fight back; she was dragged in feet-first, quickly slipping into the icy black. It was so cold that her body became numb, rendering her hands useless. Still trying to grasp the outside, Yorda's breathing became shallow and her eyes glazed, with her vision being nothing but black. By this point, her hand was the only thing still in the light; ready to breathe her last, she let her eyes slide closed.

Her wrist was caught, and with steady pulls, she was again retrieved from the darkness. Stumbling upright, she was pushed into a corner and defended.

"You can't have her!" Ico swung his stick at the foes, "Stay back!"

After the last shadow fell, Ico looked back at Yorda with a slight look of disgust. "I told you to stay..."

"Eou...?"

"..." He let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I forgot... you don't understand me, do you?"

"..."

He left her momentarily, shoving a newfound box onto the free pressure switch. The door swung open, whereupon Ico grabbed Yorda's hand and led her through. Running down some paths, he stopped before some statues, allowing Yorda to step ahead. With a flash of light, the statues slid apart, revealing a sun-drenched yard. Without a second thought, Yorda was through the door, staring up at the marvelous structure in the center of it all.

Beyond the door stood a windmill, turning carelessly in the breezes. Near it's base was a medium-sized pond; the whole side-yard was covered in thin grass, and one could see, off the edge, the sea meet the sky. Ico ran in after Yorda, who in turn was quickly dashing about to look at everything. Eventually they both ended near the clear-water pond, staring at it's surface.

Yorda was startled to see a face staring back at her from the water. Taking a step back, she looked very unsure about the two lavender eyes looking fearfully back at her.

"Oh, don't be scared, it's only your reflection." Ico walked to the edge and made a face, his reflection doing the same, "See?"

Slowly stepping back to the water, she got down on her knees and slowly reached to the image. Upon touching it, it disappeared with a thousand ripples, again surprising the girl. After a moment, the image came back, enough to hold her curiousity. Soon she was reaching at it just to make it fade, pleased to see it return again and again. After a minute, she looked at her companion, who was taking a drink of the clear water. Slightly confused, she stared.

After finishing a handful, he glanced at Yorda. "Are you thirsty? This water is nice and clear... here."

Taking her hands, he moved them together so they formed a cup. Very slowly, he dipped her hands in the water and brought them back up, the sun reflecting off the liquid. She looked absolutely fascinated by the whole process, and kept her hands together even after he removed his own. Yorda became slightly dismayed after all the water disappeared, looking back at Ico.

"Like this." He dipped his hands into the water and came back up with a handful. Slowly, she did the same, staring at him for further instruction. Carefully, Ico drank what he had out of his hands, then looked at Yorda with a wet smile, "You try."

Again they both did the motions together. Right before he took a drink out of his hand, he encouraged Yorda to do it as well.

She leaned over, ignoring the handful she had, and drank what Ico had.

"...Hey. Hey!" He suddenly threw his hands over his head as Yorda poured her handful onto his hair. "Don't do that!"  
For a minute she stared- a very faint grin appeared on her pale features. Looking back at the water, she began to play with her reflection again.

Smiling, he got up, starting to look around. Keeping an eye on Yorda, he gazed about the yard. Way up above, a switch was planted in a platform; the only way to reach it was to scale the windmill. Taking a second glance at Yorda, and finding her to be happily occupied, Ico then walked up to the windmill. Climbing the surface, he made it to a platform just before the rotating blades.

"I could probably hang on and get up that way..." Waiting until the next blade came up, he took a flying leap- missing it entirely, he crashed into the pond below, sending water flying all over the place.

Startled, Yorda had stood up, staring at him in the pond. He swam to the surface and crawled back onshore, dripping.

"Sorry..." He began to wring out his shirt, "Didn't mean to get you wet."

Trying to copy him, Yorda began wringing out her dress.

"You stay here and get dry just like that. I'll be back." He ran back around and went to conquer the windmill once more.

Watching him leave, Yorda gave her dress a few more wrings until she noticed something moving a little father off. Instantly identifying it as those wonderful little creatures that could fly, she took off in a run, scaring the whole flock off. Coming to a halt, she looked around, finding herself to be missing Ico. Running around to the pond, she checked to see if he was within- then she looked up.

He was way above her on the top of the windmill. Though he was very high, he looked fine. That was enough for Yorda, who went back to teasing her reflection. She stared at that face, not recognizing it at all, until she realized it kept doing the same things as she- that was her in the water. Stumbling back with a gasp, she looked at the ghostly figure.

"Yorda!"

Snapping to attention, she looked around.

"Yorda!" The name was called again.

Heading in it's direction, she found it to be coming from a half-bridge near the edge of the side-yard. Below, seas awaited them if they were to fall. Ico held his arm out, waiting for Yorda to leap. Moving into position, she made her best effort on a leap- both of the kids fell momentarily, but Yorda jolted to a halt. Swinging in the air, she reached her other arm up to him, the both climbing up.

"Hi again. Come on!" Taking her arm, he led her across the bridge. Through a door, they found themselves in what could've been described as a large pit. "This is pleasant, huh?"

A yelp emitted from Yorda, who was grabbed up into dark arms.


	6. Glimmer

Ico

VI : Glimmer

"Let her go!"

Bringing the stick against the shadow's body, it dropped Yorda and fell back. Rushing her to her feet, Ico ran her to the corner, quite pleased by the effectiveness of the position. Even though fighting the creatures were tough, the strategy Ico had used before seemed to be the best option, and he found it to more than prove itself when none of the creatures could reach his friend. There weren't as many here as in some other rooms, a welcome relief.

After they were all gone, they found themselves in a wet pit. Above, a wall rested, green grass tickling it's edges. A chain provided passage for Ico, but there wasn't a way to bring Yorda along. However, on the wall, an iron grate stood shut. Figuring there was a way to open it, Ico scaled up the chain and disappeared over the edge. In the concrete path, grates were above square holes. Walking to them, Ico noticed one was clear. Jumping in, he grabbed the attention of Yorda.

Running to the gate, she held the bars, staring in at him. For a moment, she was reminded of her cage, which caused her to reach her hand through the bars.

"Hold on!" Splashing down the path, Ico came into a square room, with two switches on the sides. Stepping on one, the front gate slid open. Immediately Yorda seemed to appear at his side, somewhat startling him. "You're fast when you want to be, aren't you? Follow me."

Leading her to the opposite side of the room (which made the gate slide shut with a clang) he put her on the opposite switch, which opened a backdoor. Instructing her to stay, he disappeared out of the second door.

Staring at the walls, Yorda found herself to quickly become incredibly bored. She began stretching, and messing with her hair. Footsteps sounded above her, which didn't bother her much- that is, until a face peered down a hole and quickly chimed, "Yorda!"

With a jump, she looked at the hole and spotted Ico. Walking to him, she reached up and grabbed his arm. Being pulled out, she was led to some statues. The statues slid apart with a flash, and the two ran in.

They found themselves on a metal platform, which had a switch in the middle of it. Yorda moved to the corner while Ico pulled the switch- with a lurch, the elevator began to move up.

Reaching the top, they found themselves on a rooftop. There was a huge ledge, which led up to the next level; Ico could climb up around the side, but Yorda was most definitely stuck. Leaving her momentarily, Ico climbed up and began to look for a way to bring her to him.

She stood, silently, stretching once or twice. Following that, she began to walk around the rooftop, staring at glimmering seas. A breeze tickled her hair, the soft brown covering her lavender eyes. Turning, she heard something being shoved close. Looking at the ledge, she saw a box topple down- running out of the way, she suddenly felt her foot sink into the stone roof.

"Come on!!" Ico held his hand down- with all urgency, Yorda stepped free of the black puddle just as shadows began to rise up from within. Climbing the box, she grabbed Ico's arm and was roughly dragged up, and was pulled to the corner. The monsters, spreading out wings, flapped up and to the two, dropping down around them.

With the same effort of all fights thus far, Ico valiantly protected his friend from danger. After all foes were slain, Ico wearily marched Yorda to a couch-shaped bench and plopped down. She sat down beside him, glancing around.

"Man, those things are annoying, huh?" Leaning back against the cool stone, Ico let out a sigh, "They're like nightmares..."

"..." Yorda was busy examining her hands, watching how she could make her fingers move.

"You act so young... were you in that cage forever?"

"..." Of course, not understanding a word said, she made no reply.

"At least we're out now."

They rested on the couch for a few minutes, then rose.

Walking to an open window blocked by a crate, Ico gave it a shove then helped Yorda climb through. Coming in after her, they found themselves back in the room with the pit. Ico shoved the box to a wall, which actually led up to the next passageway. Upon doing so, he heard a shriek.

"Not again!" With his stick, he dove headfirst into conflict. He hit the shadow that had Yorda so hard that it fell over against the rest of the creatures, causing a general domino effect. Yorda quickly crawled across the ground and fell back into the water-filled pit, clambering into a corner and ducking.

Up above, the monsters suddenly realized she was gone, and began to actually _flee_ from the boy. Chasing after them, he smacked their sorry hides back into the afterlife, then began to call for Yorda. He got a response of splashing.

"Yorda?" Walking to the open hole, he bent down and let his hand hang. Upon contact with another cold hand, he pulled up, and found himself face-to-face with a shadow which had Yorda flung over a shoulder.

"Gah!! Let her go!" He smacked it across the face, knocking it back into the hole. Reaching down, he quickly grabbed Yorda and pulled her out, staring down the hole as if it were a deathtrap. Yorda, standing behind him, yelped when the shadowy hand reached through the grating and grabbed her ankle.

"No! Bad!" He hit the hand, which disappeared quickly with a shake.

For a minute, nothing happened, as the kids stared at the holes.

"Where did it go?"

"Eoule!" Yorda suddenly hit the ground as it came swooping past, quickly landing and lurching to Yorda. Right when it was about to grab her, Ico hit it across the head, causing it to tumble over and disappear.

"There we go. Are you okay?"

Helping her up, he did a quick look-over and found her to be fine.

"Great. Come on!"

Running to the crate, he climbed up, then helped Yorda onto the ledge. They crawled out another window, and found themselves on the higher level of the rooftop from before. A bridge needed to be extended to a row of statues, the switch being high on a platform.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Ico ran and jumped up to a chain hanging from the platform. Pulling himself up, he pulled the switch and extended the bridge. Down below, he suddenly heard a shriek. "Oh! Yorda!"

Startled, he had ran to the edge. Suddenly he found himself fighting gravity, trying not to fall. Down below, while leaning back, he saw the dark creatures begin to haul Yorda off. His shoes slipped on the wood, and he suddenly fell down headfirst.

Landing on his face, and taking a moment to recover, he scrambled upright and leaped his way to the shadow Yorda was being pulled into. Grabbing her arms, he yanked her out, then began running to the statues.

"Come on, as fast as your feet can go!"

Stumbling along, Yorda looked over her shoulder, watching the monsters come after them. With a sudden burst of speed, she caught directly up with Ico- both of the kids tripped off the end of the bridge, sliding against the stone floors.

Yorda slid off entirely, letting out a scream. Her arm was suddenly caught, Ico having caught himself on the edge. With much struggle, he got back on the rooftop and hauled Yorda up. Directly behind them, the shadows landed- with urgency, Ico almost literally flung the girl at the statues.

Awkwardly stumbling into a trip before the statues, she fell just as a flash of light played- all of the shadows suddenly disappeared with quiet wails. Lying against the cold stone, panting, she opened her eyes and saw Ico lying just beside her.

Both panting, they lied for a moment, then got up.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you..." Ico pulled her upright, "But we made it!"

Before fully recovering, Yorda found herself pulled through the archway.

In the next room, a HUGE circular window let soft light through. The opposite wall had a huge, wooden circle set within it, possibly being another window. There were several pathways, and a couple of metal doors blocking two of them. But the most curious thing was a glint that Ico saw when gazing through the room- looking back, he found a sword had been lodged into the wooden window.

"That's strange..." He gazed up at it, then found his hand to be empty. Looking to the side, he found Yorda to be scaling a ladder and heading straight for a bench. Climbing out himself, he meandered over and gladly flopped onto the seat.

"You've got good eyes. If only you could tell me everything you see!"

They both sat in silence for some time.

Yorda was staring off into the distance, not focusing on anything. Through her eyes, very faint thoughts could be detected; in her mind, she was watching herself being led by a warm hand through the castle.

Meanwhile, Ico was staring up at ceiling, leaning back against the bench, thinking of how it felt to be abandoned... but he also remembered how he felt to find someone else there. Someone else seemingly abandoned. He also thought about how it felt to be helping that person- to him, it was the greatest thing he could think of in his relatively short life.

"Your mother..." He broke the silence with a thought, "She doesn't... love you... does she?"

Yorda blinked, startled by the sudden noise.

"She says she does... but... she doesn't. I guess... at least she says she does... Mama never even said that to me." He closed his eyes with a sigh, "Nobody's ever said that to me. Do you know what it means when she tells you that?"

Silently staring at his face, Yorda slowly grew a faint look of confusion. Warm tears were running down Ico's face- slowly, she reached her cold hand to him and touched one that was working it's way down his cheek.

Sniffling, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

Yorda then touched the other tears softly, thus erasing them. Slowly she pulled her hand back, holding it, looking at him with the same amount of concern as before.

"You... you know how I'm feeling... even if we don't understand each other, don't you?"

She again reached over and gently touched his face, wiping off another stray tear.

"De'sree hisatante..." Her voice came out as a soft whisper, "Neun de'sree histante, ne."

"I... won't cry anymore." He straightened himself up and wiped his face off, "Because I don't want to make you sad anymore."

Rising, he prompted Yorda to get up. The room they were in didn't hold many promises at the moment, so they ran through a door. An identical window was set against the wall, closed. A strange, circular column was standing in the middle, embellished with the same kind of pictographs seen on the statues. Walking to it, he stood upon it and found nothing to happen.

"You come up, too." He pulled Yorda up- reaching the top, the switch suddenly glowed; sinking down, it made a staircase rise up to the window. For a minute, they stood still, but finally climbed the staircase. Up near the window was a switch- without hesitance, Ico pulled it. Two torches were revealed in sphere-shaped holders, one on each side of the window.

"Like candles." Walking to a torch, with Yorda right behind him, Ico reached the end of his stick up and lit it. "Excuse me, out of the way!"

She moved to the side when he turned around, walking the lit end to one of the holes. Sticking it in, the wick caught aflame and glowed gently. Walking to the next one, Ico did the same, then blew out his stick.

The window suddenly began to make noise, as the heavy wood pulled apart. Soft sunlight drifted through, a faint breeze accompanying. Climbing up, Ico found they could get outside easily, and pulling Yorda along, he jumped straight out the window.

Landing on the ground (and catching Yorda, who didn't come down as gracefully as she could) he then stared at the strange contraption sitting upon a stone base. The head of the structure was fanned out, wide like a bowl. However, unlike a bowl, it was facing the window, and was nothing but a frame.

"What is that?"

He was suddenly tugged as Yorda headed for a ladder.

"Up there? Okay." Ico climbed up first, then waited for Yorda to reach the top. Running in through a door, they found themselves on a higher level of the previous room. A switch awaited them- with another pull, the candles revealed themselves in the middle window.

"I'll be right back, don't jump or anything." He lit his stick, then took a flying leap off the ledge to Yorda's dismay. Upon landing, he scrambled to the torches and began to light them. Meanwhile, wanting to stay in contact, Yorda suddenly ran off the edge with a slight leap- falling onto the floor, she remained still.

The window opened, the sword dropping down on the other side.

"Great, now Y-"Ico turned around, spotting Yorda lying on the floor, "Yorda!"

Running over, he gently nudged her. She looked up at him, with a bit of a pout.

"Don't just jump off things like that. You're not in condition to fall that far. Can you stand?" Ico gently pulled Yorda upright. She seemed fine, which was a relief. "Okay. Come on."

Walking to the room, where the sword had fallen, Ico left Yorda near the couch while retrieving the blade. Upon doing so, many black shadows suddenly rose from the floors.

"Oh, come on!"

Instantly, Yorda was beside him.

"I didn't mean you!" Wielding the blade as best he could, he suddenly sliced through a shadow- the weapon knocked them back farther than the stick, and less hits were required to fend them off. Making quick work of the creatures, Ico gave a faint grin to Yorda.

"We got a new trick. Bet they weren't expecting it, huh?"

She suddenly backed up from him, staring at the blade.

"..No, I'm not going to-"

Yorda suddenly fled to a far corner, staring silently.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" He held his free hand out, "Come."

Hesitantly, she walked over, then slowly took his hand.

"See? I'm not going to hurt you at all."

Slowly relaxing, Yorda kept an eye glued on that sword.

"Don't worry." Gazing about the room, he noticed there was a huge window on the face of the wall that led to the outside in this room, as well. It was shut tightly, hinting a switch was nearby. Looking around, he spotted a rope, which was hanging onto an iron door...

"Hmm..." Walking Yorda over, he climbed up to the rope and suddenly sliced it in half. The door instantly fell through a crack in the floor, revealing the sounds of rushing water. Walking down to the new door, with Yorda in hand, they found themselves in a makeshift sewer system.

Water was running down the sloped side- up above, a pressure-activated switch awaited. Walking to the slant, Ico tried to climb up but quickly slid back down, getting very wet. Yorda, on the other hand, had walked over and placed her feet in the cold running water, quite pleased by the gentle rush against her ankles.

"Uhm... wait here." Looking at the walls, Ico could see pipes running all over the place. Crawling up, he began to make the long crawl to the top.

Kneeling down, Yorda kept herself entertained with the waterfall. Getting on her knees, she tried to climb up, but was pushed down by the water. Then she slapped her palm against the stone, making a splash. With a very faint sense of joy, she began to splash more, eventually sitting in the running water. Drenched, and happy, she contently splashed up a mess- that is, until all the water stopped.

Confused, she felt the stone and found no more water was running down.

"Yorda, come!"

Suddenly she crawled up the slippery surface, sliding every so often. Making it to the top, her hand met with Ico's.

"You got yourself all wet, you silly." Taking her hand, she led her across a recently-created bridge. "Just don't start shivering or anything."

Through the door, they found themselves on a balcony. Off on the other side of the room, a row of statues were placed against the edge. There wasn't a bridge running across, and there was no way to create one.

"...Are we stuck?"

Yorda walked to the very edge, then jumped back with a gasp when a block appeared in the air before her. Covered in glowing symbols, it stood silent, leading to air.

"...Wow. Come on." Leading her onto it, another block appeared before it, followed by another and then another. The bridge appeared piece-by-piece, until they were before the statues. They slid apart, revealing the balcony- and a switch.

"Ah. Here we go." Looking down, Ico found that they were above the room with the still-shut window. Dropping the sword down, he walked to a corner and found a pile of sticks. Grabbing one, he ran to a wall torch.

"Don't jump down. Really." Lighting it, he leapt off the edge, causing Yorda to gasp.

She suddenly took off after him, leaping down. Quickly traveling through the air, she landed on the floor just beside him, with a loud yelp.

Quickly lighting the torches, Ico, having known she would do that, ran to her. Suddenly everything began to tremor, as he pulled her into a seated position. Silently, the two glanced around the shaking walls.

The huge dish-shaped object from before suddenly activated. With a burst of light, it suddenly directly reflected concentrated sunlight through the huge windows. Outside, above the two main gates, a round statue was hit with the concentrated beam.

The round orb, within a metal cage, began to slowly spin- gaining speed, it suddenly shot off a wave of energy for the first half of the gate. The surface of the closed gate began to glow, the rumbling coming to a dead halt.

"What just happened?"

The children stared at the steady beam of light in silence.

Rising, and helping Yorda up, Ico stared at the beam. "Come on, let's go see!"


	7. Closer

Ico

VII : Closer

Retriving the sword, the two children had wound themselves out of the room, and onto the long path serving as walls of the castle. Outside, they could see the glowing gate, waiting to slide open. The other half, however, remained dark and drab.

"We got half of it open! Do you see?" Excitedly, Ico pointed at it, looking at Yorda, "Isn't that great?"

Not understanding, she did nothing. But, after a minute, she suddenly pointed skyward.

"What is it?" Looking up, he saw black figures flying through the air, coming down at them quickly. With a sudden burst of suprise, he shoved Yorda into the corner before the railing and wall to the previous room. They came down quickly, scurrying close, but teasingly jumping back every now and then.

Weilding the sword skillfully, Ico sliced through the shadows quickly; after fighting the mob off, he collapsed into a seated position before Yorda's feet. Staring down, Yorda placed her hand on his head momentarily, then removed it.

"Thanks!" He let out a bit of a laugh, still overjoyed by the gate, "I don't know where I'd be without you by now."

Hopping to his feet, he grabbed her and began running to the next doorway. Yorda, startled, was stumbling along, staring off at the mainland's edge before the closed gates. It was green - alive- unlike her island. She could see huge flocks of birds soaring about the trees; suddenly she found herself before a ladder.

"Come on!" Ico was already halfway up, smiling widely.

"..." Climbing up carefully and slowly, Yorda found herself on the biggest ladder she had seen. It ran up the wall near the door back to the main castle; up above she could see Ico waiting for her on the ledge. Reaching the top, she was dragged off again with the same, happy, hyper speed displayed a minute ago.

They found themselves on the courtyard's balcony. Yorda walked to the edge and looked down, spying her birds. Meanwhile, Ico had run over to a switch- giving it a yank, a bridge from the opposite side came down from it's suspension and created passageway over the courtyard. Taking Yorda's hand, and, running at a high speed, dragged her across to the other side. They found themselves standing on the balcony that once led from the room with the black chandelier.

"Hold on a minute..." Ico glanced around the balcony, "We were here before, weren't we?"

Since the bridge had been drawn, all of the ropes connecting to it were slack; however, one in the corner looked as if it was still holding something. Yorda walked over to it's holder, staring at the rope. Leaning over the balcony edge, she noted that it wasn't tied to anything. Wondering what it was for, she gazed up and down it, soon accompanied by Ico.

"Why don't we cut it down and see what happens?" Taking the sword, he cut the rope in half. It suddenly slid down through the holder, but got stuck between the wall and the mount. Nothing else happened.

"Let's go down there and figure out what happened..."

They had wandered through the room with the chandelier; luckily, their bridge was still there. Unluckily, some shadows were awaiting them, coming down around them in a flock. Running through the mass, the two children made it to the ledge-bridge, sliding down at a high speed. Reaching the bottom, Ico shoved Yorda to her appointed corner and promptly turned around to defend her. The shadows, though, seemed to have gotten word of the blade, as they hopped back each time he swang the blade.

"Hold still!" Leaving Yorda for a minute, he chased after one and gave it a good slice. Turning around, just as a monster approached Yorda, he swung the sword and nearly cut it asunder. Fighting until they were as threatening as the dust among the castle, Ico took glance over Yorda and found her to be alright. With a sigh, he rested against the wall for a few minutes.

Soon they were back in the courtyard, staring at the rope.

"...the window..." Ico gasped, pointing at two windows that could be accessed if one were to swing on the rope. "Don't move."

Giving it a tug, he found it to be relatively sturdy. Climbing up, he got to the height of the second window and began to swing. The rope began to shift in the holder; since it was held so loosely, it suddenly gave way.

Yorda moved out of the way as the rope fell down into a messy pile on the floor. Looking back at the window, she found Ico to be hanging off the sill by basically his fingernails.

Climbing up, he found himself face-to-face with a box. Giving it a pull, he moved it so he had enough room to squeeze behind it; squeezing over the box, he managed to get his head stuck.

"These things are more trouble than they're worth..." Slowly turning his head to get his horns free, he suddenly fell behind the box with a 'thud' and a puff of dust. Letting out a sneeze, he quietly said, "Excuse me."

"Cketchinodo!" A weak voice called the word out.

"Catch-a-what-oh?" He peered down at Yorda from behind the box.

She was staring up, silently.

"...uhm... okay." Shoving the box, he called, "Look out!"

Yorda scampered off to the side as the box fell down, followed by an Ico. Standing up, he gave a grin to Yorda, before shoving the box to the lower window. Holding his hand out, he called, "Come on!"

Taking his hand, Yorda was helped up the box and through the window. During the short trip, Yorda let out a sneeze.

"Excuse you!"

"Ckechinaida!" She wiped the back of her arm across her face.

"Catch-a... what?" He blinked, staring at her.

"..."

"...never mind." Hopping out of the window, he helped her down. They were on a wooden platform that bridged across to the other side of the new room. The room, almost as tall as Yorda's tower, had a HUGE waterfall coming down from a honeycomb-shaped opening in the wall. The mist, combined with the warm sun, made the room sleepily comfortable.

Yorda was immediately at the edge, staring up and down at the waterfall. The sounds were unlike anything she'd ever heard; the power of nature she felt was astounding. Taken by the waterfall, she numbly stared at the cascading falls.

"Wow." The only word that could come out of Ico's mouth did so in a whisper.

Looking down at the other levels, Ico spotted a door. Hurrying across the bridge, he hopped off onto the lower level, then called, "Yorda! Come!"

With a start, she ran across the bridge and to the edge.

"I'll catch you, come on." He held his arms open, waiting for her down below.

Taking a leap off the higher platform, she knocked straight into him, both of the kids hitting the floor. Ico, underneath, wasn't hurt at all, since he found Yorda to be incredibly light. After righting themselves, the two walked out the door. They were in a pit, lined with stone, outside the building. An elevator stood in the corner, covered in thin dust.

"Over here." Climbing on, and making sure Yorda was safe, Ico turned and found there wasn't a switch with which to activate it. "Huh? How do we...?"

Looking down, Yorda noticed the gate that went up for safety on the front was down. Reaching, she grasped the cool metal and began to lightly pull. It moved slightly, but wasn't planning on moving any farther.

"Oh, good idea." Ico gently swept her hands aside, then gave a mighty upward thrust- the gate clicked into place, and the elevator suddenly rose very smoothly. Reaching the top, the side gate slid down, allowing them easy passage onto the balcony.

Climbing off, the two kids took a moment to glance at the nice view- they could see the mainland's edge, and the sea and the sky. If it wasn't something they had already seen alot of, they would've paused longer. But, without hesitance, they left the lands overlooked.

Walking back inside, Ico found the two to be quite stuck.

"Don't go anywhere... I'm going to climb out of the window up there." He gestured at a window above, quickly taking off and climbing out.

Yorda, ever silent, walked to the edge of the platform, staring at the tumbling waters. Something about it was just intriguing; looking at the window, she couldn't see Ico. Two thoughts began to fight in her mind, but were interrupted when her name called from outside.

Running back out, she spotted Ico on the ledge of the pit.

"Come!" He held his hand out, looking up at her.

Quickly, and quite smartly, she ran to the elevator, which activated and brought her down. Running to the wall, she took his hand and was quickly hauled onto the next level.

"Now, we've got to go all the way up there," Ico pointed near the top, "Up some ladders."

Beginning the climb first, Ico encouraged Yorda to follow. She came up slowly behind him, to find him at the top with a smile. Heading up the second ladder, she was met with a similar greeting, where she responded with a faint grin.

Running through a door, and then another, they found themselves in a large room. The only exit - a window- was inaccessible, that is, in a conventional sense. Pipes ran across the walls, holding climbing potential.

"See you in a minute!" Ico was already up scaling the walls.

Yorda stared, silent, watching him leave.

After climbing the walls and out a window, Ico found himself outside near an artifical river. Taking a running leap over the banks, he found a massive dial-like switch. Walking up to it, and taking a wooden beam running from it, he began to push and found it turned. Leaning against it, he made MANY complete circles, the water in the artifical river becoming smaller and smaller. Pushing it until it would go no father, he found the stream to have been entirely empty.

Inside, Yorda was dismayed, as her waterfall had shut off entirely- not a drop fell. She had gone back down to one of the platforms while alone, being most upset. Where did her water go? Looking at the window the water once came from, she suddenly watched a box topple down. Ico came down second, awkwardly landing on his rear end. Rising, he blinked to find Yorda beside him.

"I thought I told you not to move..." Ico pushed the box down, then turned to her, "Sorry I broke your waterfall, though."

He took her hand and led her all the way down to the area that once held the waterfall's spillage, then moved the box to a hole once concealed by the pounding waters. As he did, a shadow grew in a corner, and three shadows rose up from within.

"Yorda, qui-" He blinked, noticing she had already fled to her corner. Taken off gaurd, he was knocked over. Scrambling back upright, he ran to the corner and knocked the shadows away before slicing at them. As one taunted him by leaping back, the other would reach for Yorda, but were quickly stopped in their efforts. After the three were gone, Ico let out a loud groan. "Won't they EVER give up?"

"..." Yorda glanced at the box, then walked to it, standing beside it.

"That's right, we're going up there!" With a bit of a smile, he climbed up, helping Yorda up.

Suddenly, the wet air was whipping against their faces, and below, waves crashed against the rocks. They were in a tunnel carved in the rock of the island, a very wet and slick pathway. After just a few feet, Yorda had fallen over entirely, bringing Ico down as well.

"We've got to be very careful up here. We'll go slow." Rising back up, and making sure Yorda was stable, he took her hand and began walking very slowly and carefully. Around a bend, they came across a smooth, rock platform. Climbing up, they found themselves in the presence of a very wet sofa. Walking to the stone couch, both of the kids flopped into the seat, glad to rest their bruised legs.

"We're getting closer..." Ico stared up. Up above, on another ledge, many wooden objects rose upwards. Further on ahead, there was a staircase that led to nothing, the steps having fallen apart many a years ago. With a sigh, he leaned against the wet stone, not caring whether his clothes got damp or not. Yorda didn't mind either, in fact, being quite asleep at the moment. "You have the best ideas..."

With a yawn, he moved a bit closer to her, then took a short nap.


	8. Completion

Ico

VIII : Completion

Running across the stone bridge, among the heavy mists of the morning, in a dreamland the two kids were on their way to freedom. The looming castle behind them stood angrily against the sun, almost glaring at their departure. The soft grass awaited them ahead, birds joyously singing to the dawn.

"We're almost there, keep running!" Yorda was running at top speed to the other edge, with Ico in hand. He stumbled along behind her, seemingly unable to keep up at her pace. "Don't fall behind, we're going to freedom!

Suddenly slipping in a puddle, the two kids fell against the stone bridge, as a warm, heavy rain began to fall from the sky. Sitting back up, Yorda looked at the offending puddle.

It darkly reflected the thundering skies; holding her hand out and catching the rain, Yorda found it to be a deep red, thick substance. Slowly rubbing her fingers together, she suddenly gasped, standing up.

"It's raining blood..." She felt Ico's hand slip from her own; quickly looking back, he was nearly drowning in a puddle of the red rain. With all due speed, she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him upright. The bizarre rainfall slapped against the two, and Yorda couldn't hold onto the boy's arm.

Slipping from her hands with a spurt, he suddenly fell through the puddle, leaving Yorda staring at her darkened reflection in the pool. Through the reflection, she saw a shadow slowly rise up behind her, one that gave her a sickly grin.

Suddenly snapping awake and sitting upright, Yorda found herself to be shivering quite terribly. Looking to the side, she found Ico to be peacefully dozing; without delay, her hand was attached to his own.

"...huh...?" Ico opened his eyes, "What's wrong?"

She said nothing, clinging to his hand as if she were falling.

"Did something scare you?" He sat up, looking around the wet pathways, "Did you have a bad dream?"

Shivering and letting out faint whimpers, she squeezed his hand tightly.

"...Don't be scared." He took her into a hug, "There's nothing to be afraid of anymore. I won't let anything hurt you."

With a silent sigh, she relaxed some.

"I'm going to let go. Are you going to be okay?" He slowly released her from the embrace, watching her face closely. "See? Nothing TOO bad."

Helping her up, Ico made sure she was all right before continuing onwards. Leading Yorda up to the three-step staircase, the two children gazed around, feeling somewhat lost.

"I'll be back!" Letting go, he ran to a chain that was hanging from a platform above. Climbing up, he disappeared over the edge, to the dismay of Yorda.

She began pacing around near the wall, occasionally looking up. At one point, she could hear something heavy being pushed, but it all came to a halt in a minute. Then she heard the sounds of chain links rattling, then the 'click' of a switch.

Staring up at the edge, Yorda patiently awaited the appearance of her friend. However, she was soon taken up in a chilling embrace from behind. Letting out a startled yelp, she was flung over a shoulder...

Ico, on the other hand, had noticed the foes appear- instead of dropping down to Yorda, he was climbing to the platform where the shadow originated. Sword at the ready, he gazed skyward at the coming foes, spying Yorda over a shoulder.

When they touched down, he made quick work of defeating them; Yorda was busily running around the small platform, avoiding cold hands. After all of the foes were gone, Ico had a bit of a devious smirk on.

"They brought you up FOR me. How nice of them."

Taking Yorda's hand, Ico walked her off to an elevator shaft. In the center was a large dial-like switch. Taking one of the beams, he began pushing, as the platform began rising. Yorda walked to the corner, staring off at the rising scenery.

Around and around, Ico had to take a few breaks since the gears were rather rusty. Eventually, they reached the top, but didn't leave until Ico rested his arms.

Heading across the rooftop, and leaping over a gap with Yorda, Ico and the girl were standing on the edge of a ledge. On the other side, a drawbridge was raised, which only meant one thing.

"Stay here!"

Yorda watched Ico wind himself around a virtual maze of platforms to the other side. Then he disappeared behind the bridge, hanging off a chain. He swung his weight, then launched himself at the bridge.

It suddenly snapped from it's supports and came down, causing Yorda to run out of the way. Standing up, Ico called her over. Yorda came with a sprint, quickly reaching him and taking his hand.

Running her up and down several platforms, Ico finally put her in the corner of a storage room. Within the room were sticks, a broken crate, and several bombs. Outside, Ico had noticed a long tower made of wood, that could, if broken, turn into a bridge to the next door.

"Stay right here. Don't get in my way AT ALL." Picking a bomb up, and a stick, leaving the sword, he staggered out across a narrow beam. Yorda, curious, peered out from the doorway, silent.

Walking out to the platform before the wooden tower, he paused and set the bomb down. Walking to a nearby torch, he lit the end of his stick, then quickly lit the explosive. Grabbing it, he, with all due speed, flung it at the tower- plugging his ears, he closed his eyes, just before it exploded.

The wood beams of the tower suddenly splintered, cracking angrily. Yorda, in the storage room, had collapsed to the ground in fear- peering out now, she watched as it fell to the side. It made a loud 'crunch' when meeting the platform before it, and the whole process came to a halt.

"Okay, all clear!" Ico came back, taking the sword and Yorda's hand, "Let's go."

Heading out, he had entirely forgotten to blow out the end of the stick. As they ran across a path, a sudden, violent explosion rocked the storage room. Both of the kids collapsed on the wood path, watching the angry explosions and smoke billow out of the room. After it was all finished, the room was actually in relatively good shape, but both of the kids were startled beyond belief.

"S-sorry about that!"

After getting upright, he helped Yorda up, then led her carefully across the new bridge. Even though it was somewhat smashed, it remained steady enough for them to travel upon. On the next ledge, they could see that down below, some doors awaited. The ladder awaited them on the other side, which meant Ico had to somehow get Yorda across the huge gap.

"I'm getting real tired of this. Whoever designed this place really didn't want us to leave." With an angry sigh, he walked to a chain, and began climbing. "Stay here. Wait until I call or something."

Shimmying across, Yorda silently watched him leave. She could tell he was annoyed, and was mistakenly blaming herself. Up above, she saw him hit a switch, but she also spotted a shadow forming down below.

"Ico!" She called up to him, backing up to the wall as the shadows raised themselves out of the floor. Meanwhile, a big crate was moved over the gap, allowing Yorda access to the other side.

Dropping down beside her, Ico swung his sword in time to hit the first monster straight off the ledge. Fighting off the fiends, Ico finished it all with an exasperated sigh. "I can't wait until we get out of here..."

Running, he leapt to the crate, then spun around and held his arm out to Yorda. She came at a run and caught it, falling down. After dragging her upright, Ico leapt to the other side and managed to bring her across, as well. Both heading down the ladder, they ran to the next doors and proceeded to the next room.

It was an identical room to the previous one with the windows. All of the windows were shut tightly. Heavy doors blocked their path, but it was easy enough to get them away. Leaving Yorda at a couch, Ico went to work cutting the doors loose. Afterwards, he walked over and sat for a minute, then helped her upright. Into the next room they went, finding another switch only Yorda could activate.

Bringing her upon it, Ico held on as it sunk into the floor, stairs rising. Both of the kids quickly headed up and proceeded lighting torches., then the window opened, letting light pour in.

Climbing out, they found this particular sun reflector to be facing the wrong way.

"Easy to fix." Ico crawled up to it, then pushed it back into position. Taking Yorda, he then ran off to the next area.

Almost everything was a repeat of the previous room, right up to the room with the running water. After winding themselves up and around the room, they were heading to open the last window.

"After this, the gate will be open- then we can leave!"

Walking across the balcony, over the strange glowing bricks and to the statues, the kids traveled hand-in-hand. Reaching the other side, Ico pulled the switch, then dropped his sword down. Grabbing a stick, resting against the wall, he lit it, then dropped down.

Yorda waited above, wary of the drop this time. She watched him light the torches, then saw the window slide open. Before they were completely open, Ico called to her, and she leapt down and actually landed on him.

Sitting up, after moving her to the side, Ico looked up just in time. Outside, the reflector suddenly shot a steady beam of light through the windows- out across the castle, it hit the orb to the side of the inactive gate. Soon the stone orb began to spin in its holder, the gate glowing brightly.

"We... We can leave now!" Rising, he picked up the sword, then took Yorda's had. He was staring at the light, in disbelief. Taking off, at as fast as he could, he suddenly tore out on the balcony, dragging her.

Stumbling along, Yorda hadn't the faintest about what was going on. Brought to a ladder, which led down to the courtyard, she was encouraged to climb down. Doing so, she was suddenly pulled when reaching the bottom onto the stone path. Both of the kids stared at the big, glowing gates.

"...Let's go! We can leave, Yorda, we can leave!"


	9. Plummet

Ico

IX : Plummet

Both of the kids suddenly took for the gate in a run, hand in hand. It grew larger as they came closer, the brilliant soft glow being astounding. Coming to a halt before it, the two kids gazed, dreamily wondering how to open it.

"Come on, maybe we have to push it."

Ico stepped forward, Yorda behind. She took a few dainty, soft steps against the stonework, staring up at the gate. Squinting, she could feel something well up inside of her heart; reaching her hand over it, she suddenly let out a shriek.

An incredible burst of power, with a jolt of white light, knocked Ico straight onto the ground behind Yorda. Gasping, he looked at the girl.

Hands clasped together over her heart, she was the center of a massive energy transfer. White electricity ran from her body, hitting the gate in various locations. Her skin felt as if she was aflame; weakly, she stumbled back, as the gates began to slide open. The light, disconnecting from her weakened figure, stole her breath away- slowly, like a feather, she fell through the air until her face met the pavement.

"Yorda!" Ico crawled to her, sitting beside her on his knees.

"Sei..." She weakly pushed herself upright, breathing so heavy she was shuddering, "Recoule du'taeh..."

The gates swung open, then the castle began to rumble. A huge stone bridge began to spread out from the castle; on the banks of the mainland, the second half of the bridge began to spread out. Finally meeting the two, the castle stood silent.

"...Come on!" Jumping upright, and yanking Yorda harshly upright, he suddenly took off at the door. Her feet couldn't move fast enough, and, watching the sky turn into a blur, she slowly fell onto her face once more.

"Oh, Yorda... I'm so sorry..." He stopped, then helped her up. "I'll go slowly for you."

Through pain, she began lightly stepping, leaning against him. Her breath seemed to be miles away, as the air in her lungs was as painful as knives. Her heart was throbbing with pain, while all of her limbs burned angrily.

Making sure she was steady, Ico led her onto the stone bridge. Down below, seas crashed against the island and the mainland's shores, the water reflecting the bright sun above. Birds swept past above them, singing a chorus of freedom and bliss. Once or twice, he stopped to give her a rest, never once thinking of leaving her behind.

"We're almost there. Just a little farther."

Slowly, stepping in time, they made it three-fourths of the way across. At the very end, a row of statues awaited their coming. Taking one last break, Ico smiled at Yorda, who was panting against his shoulder.

"You'll be okay. I'll make sure of it. When we get out, you will never be caged again. You'll see. Just a little bit farther."

"E...Eu..."

"Don't talk. Just breathe. One step..."

They began going slowly- then, nearing the last two sections of stone, Ico picked up the pace. Just as he stepped over the crack, Yorda was suddenly jolted from his hand.

Whipping around, he suddenly was knocked over as the bridge began to shake. Yorda was lying on her edge on the other side, staring at him. Ico, hitting the stone, suddenly rolled off onto the side, barely catching himself, as the bridge began to split apart.

"No! Yorda!" Scrambling upright, he suddenly took a leap through the air. The bridge was too far apart- he suddenly felt himself go into a free-fall.

A pale hand wrapped around his tanned wrist.

Swinging in the air, on the moving bridge, Ico tried to swing his other arm up to Yorda. With all of her effort, she tried to pull him up- but suddenly, she stopped. He continued to try to swing upright, then came to a halt when spying something in her eyes.

Behind her, a black shadow grew, as she stared down at him with a pained look. Swiftly, the figure rose up behind her, a pale face appearing in the mists. The black shadow slowly crept up Yorda's body, as Ico let out a gasp.

"Aeroute." The word came strongly from the girl's mouth, as her hand squeezed harder around Ico's wrist.

Suddenly, he was falling through the air, watching the two figures on the bridge rush away. Reaching up, and screaming, he fell limply through the cold air, disappearing into the distance.

Yorda, engulfed in the black, slowly began to feel her body stiffen. The queen, behind her, wore a smirk that could've frozen the gates of hell solid. The last thought in Yorda's mind was painful, thinking of how hard he worked, only for her to drop him. Her heart and mind went silent, as all faded to black.

"...never... leave..."

The heavens thundered angrily, cold rain slapping against each and every surface.

"I... will... protect..."

Lighting split the sky asunder, followed by bellowing thunder.

"Yorda... don't worry..." Ico, wincing, curled up a bit, the cold rain stinging against his skin. He felt the cold air whip around him, whistling harshly in his ears. "What happened...?"

Slowly looking up, he saw the bottom half of the island ahead of him. He was lying on something suspended under the castle, which appeared to be some kind of makeshift cage. It swung slowly in the breeze, creaking as it did so.

Rising up, with a bit of a headache, he looked around. More cages led the way to the island, swinging in the wind. Below, the sea angrily crashed against itself, in a mock-war of nature.

"Yorda was..." He looked up, and found the bridge was entirely gone. "Her mother... I've got to get back in to save Yorda!"


	10. Solitude

Ico

X : Solitude

Waiting until the cage swung close to the next, Ico took a flying leap and landed on the edge of the second; climbing up, he ran to the edge and waited until it swung close to the next. The sky continued to grumble angrily as he leapt, nearly missing the cage.

Climbing up, he took a minute to recover, sitting on the wooden cage, dripping wet. The rain slapped at his skin, like little hands scolding him gently. Wiping the water from his eyes, he stood up again, then waited until the cage swung close to the next. Leaping, he caught the edge and pulled himself up.

He continued along the makeshift path of cages, until the could leap to the island edge. Being EXTREMELY careful on the wet rocks, he found a pathway into an inner cavern. Heading down the wet path, he came into a room that was full of machinery.

"What's all this for?" He walked to a gate, peering through. Most of the wheels and cogs were still, but some things were rotating up above. Nearby, a switch stood by the gate- without hesitance, he gave it a pull, which lowered a chain to the water beyond the gate.

"Some help that was." Glancing at the opposite wall, he noticed a broken ladder ran up to the top of the gate. Below, nothing but water was waiting. Then, looking around, he found a crate. Experimentally, he shoved it into the water, then dove in behind it.

Rising to the surface with a gasp (as the water was VERY cold) he pushed the box under the ladder, then climbed atop of it. Managing NOT to tip, he climbed up and found a switch. Pulling it, the gate slid open, giving access to the rest of the cavern.

Merely jumping into the water, Ico pulled the crate to the chain, then climbed up and on. Up above, there was no place to go- but straight ahead, a platform, and a strange looking track-and-trolley awaited. Throwing his weight, Ico began to swing over the waters, then launched himself across, landing on the platform.

Getting up, he looked at the strange trolley on the small track, then gave it a shove. It moved rather smoothly; pushing it into place, it activated all of the machinery in the room.

"Huh. Wonder what it's all for."

He then noticed a large cog was spinning near an exposed surface of rock, one that spun up and around to the next platform. Without hesitation, he leaped off the platform into the deep water. Underneath, it was clear, bitterly cold, and dark- quickly rising, he swam to the makeshift shore and to the cog.

Grabbing a spindle as it came around, Ico found himself quickly rising. Hopping off, he slipped in a puddle produced by his clothes; for a minute, he lay still, but eventually got himself upright. Finding himself face-to-face with long pipes, he was immediately crawling across the wall to the next platform.

"That woman better not have done anything to Yorda..." Ico growled to himself, quietly, crawling across the wall. "She'll regret it if she did!"

Reaching the end of the rope, he found himself having to make a leap to a chain. Doing so, he swung through the air, then let himself swing back. Further on ahead was another chain; making another swing, he let go at the peak of his flight and caught the other chain. Again swinging, he leaped off onto a platform. Climbing up a ladder, he found himself atop parts of the machinery.

"Here we go..." Leaping onto a spinning wheel, he paused for a moment to regain his balance. Leaping off onto the next, then onto another, he finally made it to the end of the cavern, and through a tunnel. The path here was slick and wet, so he went slowly and carefully. Making it to the outside, he had to literally hug the rocks. Down below, the sea threatened to swallow him whole were he to fall, as the sky grumbled angrily above.

Winding up and down the rocks, he came across (finally) a wet path. Huge iron pipes ran in through the cave, providing a path. Climbing up, he ran across them, following around a corner, and to the hole from which they entered the new room. It was a HUGE tower, much bigger than Yorda's, with a giant circular column in the center of the room. All around, the walls were lined with ruin paths- somehow, he'd have to safely crawl down below.

"I remember this room... this is where that moving platform was..." Running to the end of the bridge, he found a chain and crawled down it. Giving a bit of a swing, he launched himself onto the narrow path around the center column. Slowly curling around it, he ran across a bridge then followed a path around the walls. Soon, he came across yet another 'bridge'; hopping up, he found a strange track-and-trolley switch like from before.

"What's this for?" Looking down, he noticed a chain was hanging from the trolley. Pulling it to the wall, he hopped back down onto the pathway below, then crawled down a broken ladder- lining up with the chain, he leapt off and caught it. Swinging, he launched himself to the center column again, on a lower level. Walking around it, he came to another broken ladder.

Crawling down, he looked behind himself and noticed the next level of path on the wall was close enough to jump to. With a risky jump, he caught the edge, then pulled himself up. Taking a moment to rest, he crawled to the wall, and let his head flop against it. His horns clacked against the stone as he did, but he paid no mind.

After getting back up, he wound himself back down around many pathways, then found himself in a very familiar area. Behind him, a row of statues blocked the door to the column- but ahead of him, a cavern entrance awaited. Walking in, he suddenly froze still.

"This is where..."

A spare boat from Ico's trip awaited onshore. It was the cavern that first brought them to the castle; staring numbly, Ico could do nothing but listen to the storm outside.

"I'll bring Yorda here as soon as I get her back."

Walking around, he noticed a makeshift path led up to a strange altar. Climbing up, he headed across the slick path until he came across a seat-like carving. Across it, a large sword lay, glowing softly in the dark light. He identified it as the one his captors had used for a key to the statues- picking it up, he turned, and quickly ran back to the tall tower.

Standing before the statues, he held the sword up- with a flash of light, the statues slid apart, allowing him into the elevator. Walking in, he recognized it as the one that had brought him to his tomb; grabbing the switch, he gave it a pull, then watched the floor.

Several symbols glowed, then a huge slab of stone slid around, until it matched with the 'selected floor'. Reaching the top, he ran out, and found himself in the room lined with caskets. His own still graced the floor, open wide. Slowly stepping out, with an unknown fear, Ico suddenly gasped as he looked at the staircase ahead.

Above, on the second floor, a flock of demons were congreated around a strange platform, all dancing.

"Yorda!" He took up the sword, then took off in a run to the staircase. Up the steps and to the top, he faced the flock, noticing Yorda's figure in the center of the mass. "You fiends! Get away from Yorda!"

Lunging headfirst at the foes, he swung the glowing blade, cutting them asunder in one hit. A few escaped, flying across the room- around him, a handful of the caskets began to glow, more demons appearing in the room. Pausing for a moment, he ran to Yorda, about to grab her hand.

"Yorda, I'm-" He suddenly froze still, his heart missing a beat.

She was still reaching out in the pose from the bridge; her skin was a dark-grey stone, being cold. The girl was staring lifelessly off into the distance, looking like a perfect statue. Ico let out a faint whimper, reaching to her. Touching her arm, and finding her to be solid stone, he suddenly choked out a sob.

Looking back at the demons fluttering about the room, he slowly rose, tears running down his face. Supressing a sob, a strange light began to glow in his eyes; two lights that exploded into bright flames. Staring at the foes, his hand around the blade curled tighter...

"You... YOU WILL PAY!" Suddenly throwing himself off the staircase, he held the sword out ahead of him, skewering a few foes mid-air before landing. Running back upright, he found more coffins to activate, thus revealing more demons.

With a loud yell, he began chasing after monsters- the glowing blade traveled up and down everywhere, powered by pure devotion. More and more demons came from their coffins; all who got too near were sent to rest in the afterlife.

"You monsters! You fiends!" Ico was chasing after one who didn't seem keen on dying, "All of you will become dust!!"

Slaying the last of them, Ico slumped to his knees on the floor, leaning against his newfound blade. It glowed dimly, illuminating the heavy tears that rolled down his face. Silently, he began to drag himself up the staircase, and was soon standing before Yorda's figure.

"You will be okay." He rested a hand against the cold stone, his tears wetting the top of the girl's head. "I won't leave you."

Looking to the wall, he found a door which led into a grand hall. Taking the sword along, he swallowed his tears, then ran in. The huge hall was greatly designed, even though the ages had worn on it greatly. Running up the long path, he finally came across a massive throne; cautiously, he approached it.

Glancing around it, he could hear a faint ringing in his ear. However, there was nothing to be seen in the chair, so, after a minute, he turned and began to run back to the hall. After making it down the first mini-flight of stairs, he was shocked to hear a voice.

"Wait."

Looking back over his shoulder, he spotted a dark mass welling up in the throne. Suddenly a face lit up; the Queen was awkwardly leaning in the throne. She looked as if she couldn't keep herself upright, her face holding a weakened expression. Slowly turning, he walked back up the stairs, then stopped in front of the woman. Angry fires burned within his eyes at the woman; she stared back with a gaze as cold as ice.

"What did you do to Yorda?" Ico shouted, glaring at the woman.

"Silence, child, you are too late..." The Queen shifted slightly in her throne, speaking firmly. With a sharp draw of breath, she continued, "My body has grown old; not much longer will it last..."

Ico stared, silent, waiting for the rest of the explination.

"But Yorda... she holds the potential for my ressurection... Her fate is to be the vessel of my soul!"

"Vessel of... you're going to...?"

A faint smirk smeared across the woman's face. "When Yorda's body awakes, it will no longer contain her soul. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

A stunned silence filled the room.

"Put down that blade and leave. It is what Yorda wanted you to do."

Slowly staring down at the sword, visions of Yorda ran through Ico's head. A frown sprouted across his face. In his mind, he could see the girl staring at him with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, something that hadn't come until after they had left the tower. Slowly, he remembered her hand, holding him from falling; to have Yorda's spirit gone from the world, he felt, was like ten year's drought and plague.

"..." Suddenly grasping the sword in both hands, he let out a yell, "You can't kill her! You have no right!"

Taking off in a run, he swung the sword sharply over his head...


	11. Serenity

Ico

XI : Serenity

Bringing the sword down upon the seated figure, Ico was suddenly shot back with a massive burst of energy. Flying through the air, he was flung a fair distance away, landing on his head- a sickening crack, and a spurt of blood, announced his landing.

"You're a nuisance, boy, do you really wish to die that badly?" The queen rose from her throne, looking at the child lying on the floor.

Slowly, holding his head, he staggered upright. Blood was running through his hand, which was placed over the stump left of his right horn. Throbbing pain ran through his head- staring at the blurry figure ahead of him, he barely made a wince as he stepped forward.

"Still standing? Come at me, then, child, and do your worst."

Suddenly, a massive blast of energy came at him- rolling across the floor, he barely made it behind a column when the wave passed. Still holding his bleeding head, he looked around frantically for the sword- it was lying on the floor between the two columns.

The Queen, surrounded by a massive shield of black energy, sent another shockwave out. Ico ran to the sword and picked it up, diving just behind the opposite pillar as a third wave was unleashed. The force of the blast pushed the column back slightly, but the child remained unharmed behind it.

"It moves..." Leaning against it, Ico began to push the column towards the Queen. Waiting until she finished sending off another powerful shockwave, he suddenly ran out and slammed the edge of the blade against the force field.

With a wince, the Queen's magic sent the blade (and the child) flying some distance, Ico coming to rest close to the throne. The sword landed against the wall, glowing dimly in the dark confines. Expecting the child to remain still, she sent off another blast of energy- slightly dismayed, he found him to be gone.

The sword was missing from the wall; with a massive burst of power, she suddenly caught glint of it protecting the child from the spell. Once more, he came running at her during the opening and slashed at the shield.

"You fool, what are you trying to accomplish?" The field sent the blade flying once more, followed by a shockwave, "Succumb to your fate and perish, you demon!"

It landed in the very back of the room, glowing against the cold floors. Smirking, the Queen felt as if the blade was out of reach, therefore she began laying down her strongest attacks.

Behind a column, Ico began pulling it back, head still throbbing with each step. He could hear the woman behind him sending off the spells; after a break, he ran out at top speed to the sword and grabbed it just as a shockwave hit him.

The blade glowed like fire, scattering the attack around him. The weakened impact was enough to cause great pain, so without delay, he ran back to a column and waited out the next attacks. Pushing it closer and closer to the Queen, he waited until he had an opening- rushing out, he thrust the blade at the sword, the resounding blast sending it flying from his hands.

The shield had ruptured- with a slight bit of panic, the Queen upped the ante and started casting the spell more fiercely and more frequently. Through wavering eyes, she watched the child disappear behind columns and back to the sword, then frightfully watched the column move forward.

Sweat rolling down the nearly exhumed face of the woman, she continued to attack with only the most violent of forces. Meanwhile, behind the column, Ico patiently awaited a break.

"For Yorda..." He ground his teeth, then suddenly ran out just as a wave went past. Swinging the blade up, he thrust it at the woman.

Blood spilled onto the floor, mixing with the dust.

"..." The Queen suddenly fell back into the throne, the boy standing over her, pushing the blade down. It stuck straight through her chest, resting against the surface of the great chair behind her. Blood carelessly ran down, and off onto the floor, as her eyes began to glaze.

"Yorda... Yorda will never be able to escape the castle..." The words flowed out of the stammering mouth weakly, as a greasy, evil grin smeared across her fading face. "Even... if you take my life..."

Ico, staring hard, said nothing, but leaned against the blade further. The Queen let her eyes roll back- suddenly, with a resounding blast, he was sent flying through the air. Hitting the stonewall, he let out a loud gasp as all air left his body; landing on the stone floors, everything went to black as his left horn clinked against the ground beside him.

Outside the throne room, Yorda's body suddenly exploded into great white light, which quickly melted down into shadow. A pitch-black figure slowly sat upright, gazing around. The entire caste began to tremor angrily- for a minute, the figure looked down at its hand.

Her fingers were a pitch black, along with her arm. Rising, she looked around the tomb and found all of the spirits once trapped in the coffins to be released. Looking back at the throne room's door, she saw a figure in the distance. Slowly turning, black feet swept across the floor silently to the body.

Kneeling down, the shadow was suddenly taken aback while staring at the boy's head. Gingerly touching the bleeding wound on his head, a thought began to bloom. Bending down, sliding dark arms under Ico, the girl rose and began walking out of the throne room.

Pieces of the ceilings and ornamental objects began to fall and crumble, as the shadow walked to the great elevator. With not a noise, it pulled the switch, still gently carrying the unconscious boy in it's arms.

Reaching the bottom, and walking out, the shadow glanced about the crumbling tower, then headed for the alcove. Outside, huge bricks could be witnessed falling from the heavens into the gray seas; ignoring all other objects, the shadow walked to wooden boat, now rising up with the water which flooded the alcove.

Resting the boy in the boat, and trying to make sure he was in a comfortable position, the shadow then placed her hands on the edge of the boat. Taking off in a stride, she cast the boat free for the open waters. Staring at the vessel, she slowly raised a hand to her face, then took a breath.

"Alu re'hauss."

Above, bridges fell and statues shattered, the angry rumbling running through each wall. Whole buildings caved in as chains fell from the ceilings, and torches scattered flames across the barren floors. Birds escaped from the island in massive flocks, watching the impressive building crumble below.

With huge, muffled sounds of rock splitting, the entire island suddenly began to sink into the frothing waters. Inside caverns and buildings flooded entirely, and boxes and crates floated out and adrift. Soon, the final bricks of the palace sunk into the sea, never again to be disturbed.

The land went silent, as well as the sea, no trace of the fortress to be seen.

Far away, a small boat had beached itself on a long shore, the sun beating down on the weathered wood. Slowly, Ico opened his eyes to see a blurry sky dotted with clouds and seagulls.

"Where...am I?" Rising, he suddenly fell, limply, onto the wet sand as everything swirled into a blur. Wincing upon impact, he was reminded that his head was still in massive amounts of pain. The seawater stung against an open wound, enough to rise the boy to his feet.

Looking around the shore, he squinted at a flock of birds- they were circling over something at the far end of the beach. Unable to see what it was that had their attention, he began walking across the wet sand.

His shoes sunk slightly for each step, his head giving off a faint pulse of pain for each time a foot contacted the earth. Ico's vision was miserably blurry, and he had barely enough energy to concentrate on moving ahead.

Through the splashing waters, he could soon see a white blur lying across the tan sand. It almost seemed to glow against the background upon which it was resting. Pausing for a moment, he suddenly let out a gasp, then took off in a blind run.

Panting, head throbbing, he carried himself swiftly across the beach to the white blur- reaching it, he slowly walked up to the figure, staring down.

Yorda's body lie ashore, gently caressed by tongues of waves.

"Yorda..." He looked over her, worried that she might be dead. But soon, he saw her hand move. Still staring down at her, and casting a shadow on her figure, he began to grin as she stirred in her slumber.

Curling up slightly, she let her shining eyes slide open. Looking up at the figure standing before the sun, a huge grin smoothly spread across her face as she gazed upon her friend's figure.

"Isytala!"


End file.
